Francesa, 63, began his own weekday show in 2008 after the conclusion of “Mike and the Mad Dog” which ran from 1989-2008 with co-host Chris Russo.

After fellow WFAN host Craig Carton was arrested earlier this month and subsequently removed himself from the radio station, Francesa left the door open to possibly staying on the station longer.

“I would not turn my back on the company if I thought it was in trouble,” Francesa told the New York Post last week.

But in less than three months, he will be gone when his contract expires.

“Now that the things have settled down, we can announce that I am going back to my original schedule and I’ll be departing on Dec. 15,” Francesa said. “We’ve gone through that and that is now official. That station and I have looked through everything and agreed upon. It’s going to come pretty fast.”

The New York Mets have released their full 2018 game schedule. Their first game is home against the St. Louis Cardinals on March 29th.

Inter-league play will be against the American League East next season. The Mets play two games at home against the Blue Jays May 15th and 16th, then two in Toronto July 3rd and 4th. They play two home games agains the Orioles on June 5th and 6th, then two games in Baltimore August 14th and 15th. The Red Sox series is a three-game set in Boston.

Instead of a typical four-game series against the Yankees during which two games are played in Queens and two are played in the Bronx, there will be two three-game Subway Series next summer. The first will be at Citi Field from June 8-10 and the second will be at Yankee Stadium from July 20-22.

Six of the last seven series the Mets play will be against National League East teams. If the Mets plan on competing comes to fruition, September should turn out to be a very exciting month.

]]>http://metsmerizedonline.com/2017/09/mets-release-full-2018-game-schedule.html/feed/0Morning Briefing: Much Needed Off Day for Struggling Metshttp://metsmerizedonline.com/2017/05/morning-briefing-much-needed-off-day-for-struggling-mets.html/
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2017/05/morning-briefing-much-needed-off-day-for-struggling-mets.html/#respondThu, 18 May 2017 09:53:46 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=237437[...]]]>

Good Morning Mets fans! The Mets are off today following a disastrous road trip.

Latest Mets News

Robert Gsellman pitched out of the bullpen on Wednesday and that role could be more recurring for him. He will not pitch this Friday as scheduled and may be skipped next time as well due to off-days in the Mets schedule according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. The righty has struggled this year.

Yoenis Cespedes is inching closer to a return. He is set to begin a rehab assignment tonight and could return as early as next week. Marc Carig of Newsday has more on the Mets star.

Steven Matz and Seth Lugo are set to begin rehab assignments today with the St. Lucie Mets according to Anthony Dicomo of MLB.com. Both are scheduled to throw two innings.

The New York Mets today announced that single game tickets will go on sale Friday, November 18 at 10:00 am.

The Mets Promotional Dates and Giveaway dates have also been announced for the 2017 Season. The upcoming season will feature the return of the popular weekend promotions of Free Shirt Fridays, Super Saturdays and Family Sundays as part of a promotional schedule that will feature more than 900,000 items given away.

There are currently three fireworks nights scheduled on Saturdays throughout the year. The Mets have alluded to the possibility of adding more based upon a litany of factors.

Many player-themed promotions have been scheduled such as two bobbleheads, a garden gnome, a Starting Lineup Figure and two ‘Fat Head’ wall stickers. Only one specific player, however, has been announced, which is an Asdrubal Cabrera Bobblehead to be given away on July 1st against Philadelphia.

While you plan your weekends for next summer and decide which games you want to lock up tickets for, take a look at the tiered pricing schedule for next season. The Mets have eliminated the ‘Super Value’ category of games and have gone with four different groupings. While the average price of tickets has increased just shy of 3% (for only the second time in the last nine years) for the upcoming year, the pricing of the games is actually more ‘bottom heavy’ for 2017.

The cheapest two categories of games (Classic & Value) will constitute 58 games. In comparison, the bottom two categories of games (Value & Super Value) in 2016 totaled just 26 dates. Some ‘bargains’ will be the midweek visit by the reigning World Champion Chicago Cubs that will fall into the Classic Category in June as well as the Wild Card rematch against the Giants in May priced as a value series.

With the home and home two game set with the Yankees in August and Opening Day, only three total games will be the highest priced Marquee category. With the schedule quirks of having inter-league play daily, be ready for a return to six games against the Yankees in 2018 which will occur every third season.

For the eighth consecutive year, it is STILL cheaper to own Season Tickets (in almost every seating category) for 2017 than it was for their first season in Citi Field back in 2009. This is not necessarily a compliment to the Mets keeping prices down, but an indictment of just how egregious the pricing gauging was at the stadiums opening.

“Coming off a World Series, there is a certain part of you that says ‘we’re not living up to what everybody expects,’ ” Ricco said. “But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how you get there. If you’re where we are, we’ve got to keep grinding.”

It would have been easy for the Mets to just lie down, accept their injuries and prep themselves for next year, but Terry Collins and company have kept the clubhouse loose and have instilled a winning mentality in a team that has been brought together from all different walks of baseball.

With the Mets dealing with a favorable schedule from here on out, a wild card spot is a very real possibility. The team just needs to stay strong and do what they have been doing the last several weeks.

The New York Mets have released their full regular season schedule for next year, which spans from April 3 to October 1.

They will open the year with series against the Braves and Marlins at Citi Field. All 25 April games will be against NL East rivals.

The Mets and Yankees will continue the recent trend of a four-game set split between Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, which will take place August 14-17. The rest of the interleague schedule will be against the AL West (Angels, A’s, Rangers, Astros, and Mariners).

At first glance, June is looking like it will be a very tough month for the Mets, who have series against the Pirates, Rangers, Cubs, Nationals, Dodgers, Giants, and Marlins.

Highlights of the 2017 home schedule include:

Opening Day at Citi Field, April 3 vs. the Atlanta Braves.

Subway Series vs. the New York Yankees, August 16-17 at Citi Field and August 14-15 at Yankee Stadium.

Memorial Day, May 29 vs. the Milwaukee Brewers.

Interleague Series at Citi Field include: the Angels (May 19-21), the A’s (July 21-23) and the Rangers (August 8-9).

Rematch of the 2015 NLCS vs. the Chicago Cubs, June 12-14.

Father’s Day, June 18 vs. the Washington Nationals.

Weekend Series vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, August 4-6.

Labor Day, September 4 vs. the Philadelphia Phillies.

Game times for the 2017 campaign will be announced in the coming weeks.

In four days, the Mets will have to endure something that no team before has ever suffered through. A fan base that has sat through its share of heartache will have yet another chapter written and it’s completely out of everyone’s control.

Coming off of an amazing season in which the Mets arrived early, taking the NL East and the NL Pennant before losing to the Kansas City Royals in the World Series, the Mets will relive the latter portion of that roller coaster season on April 3rd, 2016 when they open the season at Kauffman Stadium.

It’s hard to predict history. Major League Baseball released their 2016 schedule on September 8th, 2015. Among the games on the schedule were matchups between former World Series foes like the Cardinals and Rangers, Red Sox and Rockies and Yankees and Diamondbacks. The Mets and Royals were both on their way to winning their respective divisions and about to join that list.

In the very first game of 2016, the Mets will be introduced, player by player along the third base line, in the exact same places they were roughly six months earlier. Instead of the words “World Series,” painted on the field directly in front of them will be the words “Opening Day.”

They will stand and endure the onslaught. The National Anthem. The outfield sized American Flag. The introduction of every single World Series winning player on the Kansas City Royals. They’ll endure the gut-wrenching feeling of seeing a World Series flag blowing in the wind above Kauffman Stadium and the reality that they were that close.

The entire image is surreal.

It seems like torture on top of torture actually. Almost an unfair pantheon of events that would drive the weak minded absolutely crazy.

We’ll learn a lot about the 2016 New York Mets that night. When likely game one starter Matt Harvey climbs the hill, will the Mets break, or will they fight back?

Heart is something that can not be taught and if the Mets are going to start their campaign to get back to the World Series in 2016, they’ll do it against incredibly tough emotional odds, back at the scene of the crime.

Never in the history of baseball have the National League and American League Champions squared off on Opening Day but that is all about to change.

There they are, the pride of the fleet for the Mets. Sports Illustrated will be featuring the New York Mets on the cover of their 2016 Baseball Preview that will be available on newsstands. They pick the Amazins to win the NL East.

Harvey as you know has already been named the Opening Night starter against the Kansas City Royals in Kauffman Stadium, while Noah Syndergaard will pitch in relief in Game 2 with Bartolo Colon the likely starter.

The Mets have exhibition games against the Chicago Cubs in Las Vegas on March 31 and April 1 and they will have deGrom and Steven Matz starting those games. So here is how it all shakes out the way I see it:

Two months from today, the Mets will have to endure something that no team before has ever suffered through. A fan base that has sat through its share of heartache will have yet another chapter written and it’s completely out of everyone’s control.

Coming off of an amazing season in which the Mets arrived early, taking the NL East and the NL Pennant before losing to the Kansas City Royals in the World Series, the Mets will relive the latter portion of that roller coaster on April 3rd, 2016 when they open the season at Kauffman Stadium.

It’s hard to predict history. Major League Baseball released their 2016 schedule on September 8th, 2015. Among the games on the schedule were matchups between former World Series foes like the Cardinals and Rangers, Red Sox and Rockies and Yankees and Diamondbacks. The Mets and Royals were both on their way to winning their respective divisions and about to join that list.

In the very first game of 2016, the Mets will be introduced, player by player along the third base line, in the exact same places they were roughly six months earlier. Instead of the words “World Series,” painted on the field directly in front of them will be the words “Opening Day.”

They will stand and endure the onslaught. The National Anthem. The outfield sized American Flag. The introduction of every single World Series winning player on the Kansas City Royals. They’ll endure the gut-wrenching feeling of seeing a World Series flag blowing in the wind above Kauffman Stadium and the reality that they were that close.

The entire image is surreal.

It seems like torture on top of torture actually. Almost an unfair pantheon of events that would drive the weak minded absolutely crazy.

We’ll learn a lot about the 2016 New York Mets that night. When likely game one starter Matt Harvey climbs the hill, will the Mets break, or will they fight back?

Heart is something that can not be taught and if the Mets are going to start their campaign to get back to the World Series in 2016, they’ll do it against incredibly tough emotional odds, back at the scene of the crime.

Never in the history of baseball have the National League and American League Champions squared off on Opening Day but that is all about to change.

I wanted to update this post with a few things we learned from the Mets conference call to announce and discuss the Yoenis Cespedes deal. On the call were Jeff Wilpon, Sandy Alderson and Cespedes’ agent Brodie Van Wagenen.

Outfielder Darrell Ceciliani was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Yoenis Cespedes. Ceciliani, 25, batted .206 last season in 75 at-bats with the Mets.

Yoenis Cespedes will get a $10 million dollar signing bonus from the Mets within 30 days and then draw a $17.5 million salary for 2016.

Both sides were in regular contact throughout the offseason, and while Sandy Alderson didn’t believe Cespedes would be back, he started to believe it was possible midway through January.

Sandy maintained ed he was trying not to raise the expectations of fans that a deal would get done, saying, “You always like to under-promise and over-produce.” He also admitted that he understood “the magnitude of this issue with the media and our fans.”

Jeff Wilpon indicated that Cespedes was a part of the offseason plan all along. “It was the right time to get the deal done as well as part of the plan that we went into the offseason with.”

As for the opt-out, Van Wagenen said Cespedes doesn’t view it as a short-term deal with the Mets and he hopes that it’s a bridge to a longer term relationship.

Wagenen also credited Jeff Wilpon for “pushing the deal across the finish line.”

Everyone agreed that the offer from the Washington Nationals had nothing to do with outcome and served as no motivation to get a deal done.

The plan was for Cespedes and his agent to explore all markets and when that was done, they were always going to circle back to the Mets because that’s who Cespedes always said he wanted to play for.

“We are a destination team,” added Wilpon.

Mets Officially Announce Deal With Cespedes

The New York Mets today announced the club has signed outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to a three-year contract.

Cespedes, 30, established career-highs in doubles (42), home runs (35) and RBI (105), slugging (.542) and OPS (.870) last year. He was acquired by the Mets on July 31 from Detroit and hit 14 doubles, 17 home runs with 44 RBI and scored 39 runs in 57 games with New York. He drove in a career-high 23 RBI for a calendar month in August and had nine home runs and 21 RBI in September.

“Yoenis was a big contributor to our success last year,” said Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson. “Ownership’s on-going commitment allowed us to bring back the right player at the right time to put us in a position to defend our NL East crown.”

Cespedes, who became the 11th Cuban-born player to play for the Mets, was third in the majors with 83 extra-bases, was tied for sixth in doubles, ninth in RBI and led the majors with a .623 road slugging percentage in 2015.

“I loved my experience with the Mets last season,” said Cespedes. “In a short period of time, my teammates and the fans made New York feel like home, and I truly felt embraced by the entire organization. As I entered free agency, I couldn’t deny the pull to come back and finish what we had started last year. I am excited to finally announce that next season I am coming back to join the New York Mets once again.”

Cespedes hit two home runs and drove in four runs in the 2015 NLDS vs. Los Angeles and added three RBI in four games vs. the Cubs in the NLCS. Overall, he has hit .277 (26-94) with three home runs and 14 RBI in 24 career postseason games.

“It’s great to have his big bat back in the middle of the line-up,” said Manager Terry Collins. “He really lengthens the line-up and makes everyone around him better. He was a great teammate and I’m really glad he decided to come back.”

The 5-10, 210-pounder earned an American League Gold Glove last year and led the AL in outfield assists (16) in 2014. Since his debut in 2012, Cespedes has 48 outfield assists, the most in the majors.

Cespedes was an All-Star in 2014, after scoring 89 runs and hitting 36 doubles, six triples, 22 home runs and 100 RBI in 152 games between Oakland and Boston.

In 2013, Cespedes won the Home Run Derby at Citi Field as part of the All-Star festivities with 32 total home runs. He also won the Home Run Derby in 2014 and joined Ken Griffey Jr. as the only players in major league history to win back-to-back Home Run Derby titles.

Cespedes finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2012 with Oakland after he ranked second in runs (70), hits (142), doubles (25), home runs (23), extra-base hits (53) and multi-hit games (40) among AL rookies.

Cespedes has 367 RBI since 2012, tied for the 10th-most in the majors and his 106 home runs during that span is tied for the 14th-most.

He has hit .271 (609-2249) with 124 doubles, 21 triples, 106 home runs, 367 RBI, 334 runs scored and a .486 slugging percentage and a .805 OPS in 575 major league games over four major league seasons with the Mets, Tigers, Red Sox and Athletics.

The New York Mets, 2015 NL East Division Champions, will celebrate their Amazin’ fans throughout Fan Appreciation Weekend in the final three regular season games this weekend when the Mets host the Washington Nationals.

The weekend begins with Free Shirt Friday at 7:10 p.m. followed by Super Saturday at 7:10 p.m. and concluding with Family Sunday at 3:10 p.m. on October 4.

In addition to Free Shirt Friday and a Mets fleece blanket to the first 15,000 on Saturday, the weekend will include in-game giveaways featuring player-signed hats, balls and helmets as well as tweet your seat prizes – tweet back at us with the hashtag #CitiFood and you might win ice cream, courtesy of Good Humor, delivered to your seat. Sunday’s finale will include complimentary face painters and balloon artists located in Fan Fest (behind center field on the Field Level) from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

The Mets are offering additional promotions at Citi Field available exclusively on Twitter and within the free MLB.com At the Ballpark app. Simply download MLB.com At the Ballpark®, and check-in at Mets games for exclusive offers.

Fans are encouraged to take mass transit and get to the ballpark early to take advantage of the festivities and expected large crowds. For more information and a complete list of giveaways, visit Mets.com/FanAppreciation.

The New York Mets today announced that the club will start the 2016 regular season with a two-game road series vs. the Kansas City Royals Monday, April 4 and Wednesday, April 6 at Kansas City. Opening Day at Citi Field will be on Friday, April 8 vs. the Philadelphia Phillies. The initial homestand will feature opening weekend vs. the Phillies, April 8-10 followed by a three-game set vs. the Miami Marlins, April 11-13.

Highlights of the 2016 home schedule include:

Opening Day at Citi Field, April 8 vs. the Philadelphia Phillies.

Subway Series vs. the New York Yankees, August 1-2 at Citi Field and August 3-4 at Yankee Stadium.

Memorial Day Weekend matchup vs. the LA Dodgers, May 27-29, followed by an Interleague series vs. the Chicago White Sox starting on Memorial Day and concluding June 1.

Other Interleague games at Citi Field include the Royals (June 21-22) and Twins (September 16-18).

Father’s Day, June 19 vs. the Atlanta Braves.

Independence Day, July 4 vs. the Miami Marlins.

The 2016 schedule will feature the return of popular fan promotions such as Free Shirt Fridays, Post-Game Concerts, Fireworks and Family Sundays in addition to many other promotions that will be announced at a later date.

Game times for the 2016 campaign will be announced in the coming weeks.

According to Kevin Kernan of the NY Post, David Wright is expected to play a minor league game Monday in Port St. Lucie. Wright took batting practice today and fielded ground balls at third base. If he avoids any setbacks, Wright could return sooner than anticipated in early September or late August.

August 5th

After missing most of the season with spinal stenosis, David Wright is inching closer to a return. Adam Rubin of ESPN NY reports that on Tuesday, Wright began the first of five days of consecutive baseball workouts, and the team expects him to start playing rehab games shortly afterwards.

“There’s not much more preparation I can do other than games,” Wright said. “If it was on a schedule that I made up, I’d like to do that. Ultimately it’s going to be a combined effort with doctors, trainers, physical therapists. I’m sure it’s going to be a group discussion.”

“It’s not just going to be me saying, ‘I think I’m ready,’ because I think there are going to be some things that they want to see out of me these next five days.”

Despite the severity of the injury, Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com reports that the Mets’ captain is optimistic about his recovery and his goal is to be an everyday player once he returns.

n he returns this season, he wants to be a regular in the Mets lineup again.

“My goal is to try to come back and be an everyday player,” Wright said. “My goal is not to come back and play every other day. My body might tell me I need a blow a little more often then that but I’m planning on coming back and being an everyday player.”

“I wanna be part of the fun”

With the Mets in a heated division race with the Washington Nationals, adding Wright’s presence to the lineup would be huge. The six time All-Star is a career .298 hitter and is one of the most prolific position players in team history.

He was hitting .333 with a home run and four RBI before landing on the disabled list this season. In 134 games last year, he batted .269 and posted a career low in home runs with eight in a year marred by injuries.

Manager Terry Collins hinted the plan for Wright when he comes back is to bat him second.

“His on-base percentage is so good,” Collins said. “He can run the bases. He brings a lot to the table. You look throughout the league now and there are big-name hitters, power guys hitting second. The new thing is to get all these guys up in that spot where they can get up more.”

]]>http://metsmerizedonline.com/2015/08/wright-expects-to-start-playing-rehab-games-on-monday.html/feed/0The Next Ten Games Will Be Pivotal For Metshttp://metsmerizedonline.com/2015/07/the-next-ten-games-will-be-pivotal-for-mets.html/
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2015/07/the-next-ten-games-will-be-pivotal-for-mets.html/#respondFri, 17 Jul 2015 16:00:44 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=187352[...]]]>

With the Mets facing a challenging ten game stretch following the All-Star break, Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post explains that this could be the defining moment of the season.

New York starts a three game series on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals tonight, who have the best record in the National league. They will then face the first place Nationals and will play four games against the Dodgers.

“Most critical of all, they are 10 days that should alert the men who own and run the team if the dual pennant races in which they find themselves are real, or if they are mirages, if their place two games south of the Nationals is legit or merely a product of Washington’s inability to run and hide just yet, if their status a game behind the Cubs for the second wild card is little more than a parlor trick whose shelf life is nearly over.”

“Five and five, or better, against those three teams, with 10 difficult games suddenly gone from the schedule? Make no mistake. That brands them contenders.”

Vaccaro also says that if the Mets play well during this stretch, it will either force the front office and ownership to make a move or it will expose them as frauds.

“Because if the Mets are still in their dual races in 11 days and they do nothing, then it clearly means they were planning on doing nothing all along.”

“They will have sold their fans another bill of goods.”

The Mets have the pitching to beat anybody, but could their offense compete against the top teams in the league? These next ten games will be a good test, but they’ll likely need help from the front office and ownership in order to reach the playoffs.

After Saturday’s 10-2 win, the Mets re-assigned reliever Scott Rice to minor league camp. The move now leaves just Dario Alvarez and Sean Gilmartin as the only lefthanded relievers in big league camp.

Adam Rubin wrote in his briefing this morning that the Mets’ left-handed relief answer may very well come from outside the organization in the next week.

Additionally, Joel Sherman of the NY Post reports that the Mets may have set their sights on Nationals southpaw reliever, Jerry Blevins.

Blevins came on to strike out Granderson looking to end the fifth, but gave up a one-out pulled triple to Duda before being removed in the sixth.

Sherman spoke to manager Matt Williams who said the Nationals will settle on two lefthanded relievers from among Blevins, Matt Thornton and Xavier Cedeno, all of whom are out of options and cannot be sent to the minors without first passing through waivers.

Mets officials told Sherman they remain confident they can find a lefty reliever in the next week before Opening Day, but that the Nationals are more of a fallback position in case other stuff does not materialize.

The Mets also have been looking at Orioles lefty Brian Matusz, as well as lefty relief options from the Braves, Dodgers, Rockies and others.

March 28

Here are four things we learned today about the Mets bullpen and relievers, followed by my opening day projection.

The Mets initially estimated a May 1 return so this indicates that Parnell is progressing well and ahead of schedule. Parnell is slated to pitch on the minor league side on Sunday and is working on ramping up his velocity gradually.

2. Jenrry Mejia is having a rough go of it lately. After he allowed what proved to be a decisive home run to Rafael Ortega on Friday in a three run outburst, manager Terry Collins suggested Mejia may be going through a dead arm period.

“I think a couple of those guys, they’re in that dead arm stage with them that’s starting to take place,” he said. “But you gotta go through it. You gotta go through it now because you don’t want to have it happen during the season.”

3. Vic Black threw 24 pitches off a mound on Saturday and expressed hope the team will let him begin the season on the Opening Day roster, writes Adam Rubin who cautions, “Still, days are dwindling for Black to be ready.”

Black hasn’t appeared in a game since March 9 and while he hopes the Mets will let him pitch in big league games as soon as Wednesday, that probably won’t happen so the Mets would want to keep open the possibility of backdating any DL stint.

4. Here comes Sean Gilmartin. The Mets Rule 5 selection struck the one left-handed batter he faced on Friday as he continues to build his scoreless innings streak.

“He’s doing a nice job,” Collins said. “We talked today about being a left-handed reliever and he’s done a very, very good job. He really mixes speeds up, he uses all his pitches against lefties. It’s a big change from starting, which it is, but he’s done a good job adjusting.”

While I expect the Mets to take a significant step forward this season, I have to disagree with the case many make for the Mets based on their run differential last season.

Run differential numbers are useless because of the missing nuts and bolts that are hidden behind it. I will refer to the St. Louis Cardinals who put up equivalent marks as we did in run scoring, runs allowed and fielding. They won 90 games playing a tougher schedule, eleven more wins than we had. Why was that?

It’s because tallying accumulated runs mean very little. I’ve been saying this often of late but it needs to be repeated. Bobby Ojeda said he doesn’t care about the total amounts of runs scored/allowed, it’s the how and when that’s important.

The Mets’ run production was not consistent. They would bunch many of their runs into a few games. They were not reliable to score enough on a day-in and day-out basis, and to churn out runs against tough pitching. Do we forget all the times we were cursing because they lost a tough low scoring game? How often they stranded runners in scoring position? How many times a starter would walk off the mound after a fine performance with either a no decision or being on the losing end to show for it? All those one run losses?

The Cardinals did not have that type of problem. That’s why one has to look beyond the numbers. They had what it took to produce runs proficiently throughout the long 162 game schedule. They would put the ball in play to make things happen, not take pitches hoping to get a better one later in the count. They would move runners along, make productive outs, get the runners in when they needed them.

That run differential had it where the Cardinals should have been an 83 game winner this past year and the Mets an 82 game winner. The Cardinals won 90 and we won just 79 because of what was behind those numbers, or lacking in the Mets’ case.

A Pythagorean explanation would be that the Cardinals got too many breaks and were too lucky and the Mets weren’t lucky at all. But is that really the case and were the Mets really on par with the Cardinals offensively last season? The Cardinals had seven regulars who had a 2.0 WAR or better last season. The Mets had four. The Cardinals had five everyday players with a 110 OPS+ or higher last season. The Mets had Duda and Murphy.

This is why there is such a divide between the saber supporters and those like me who could be called traditionalists. It’s not so much the numbers or the stats, it’s the misuse of that information to make a case for something that isn’t.

* * * * * * * *

This Fan Shot was contributed by MMO reader Joey D. Have something you want to say about the Mets? Share your opinions with over 25,000 Met fans who read this site daily. Send your Fan Shot to us at FanShot@MetsmerizedOnline.com. Or ask us about becoming a regular contributor.

]]>http://metsmerizedonline.com/2015/01/mmo-fan-shot-what-run-differential-doesnt-tell-you.html/feed/457Wheeler Has A Chip On His Shoulder, Wants To Win With Metshttp://metsmerizedonline.com/2014/11/wheeler-has-a-chip-on-his-shoulder-wants-to-win-with-mets.html/
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2014/11/wheeler-has-a-chip-on-his-shoulder-wants-to-win-with-mets.html/#commentsFri, 21 Nov 2014 03:23:00 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=170453[...]]]>

“We’re going to win,” said the young righthander who also hopes he’ll be a part of the Mets renaissance.

“I’d rather not get traded but I’ve been through it before,” he said. “I know how it goes. I know it’s the business. So I’d rather not get traded and stay here because I know what’s about to happen here.”

“If you’re human you can only look at our staff and be like yeah they’re going to make it to the playoffs,” he said.

Wheeler couldn’t help thinking about how the San Francisco Giants traded him to the Mets and went on to win their third World Series in five years. After all, he was selected sixth overall by San Francisco and was supposed to be their future star.

“I came from the Giants. I saw it happen over there — a lot of homegrown talent, young guys coming up and stuff. They’ve won three World Series in five years. It sort of puts a bitter taste in my mouth.”

“Now I want to do it over here with these guys and show them a little bit. Obviously you look at them and you’re like, ‘Man, I could have won a World Series this year.’ But now it makes me want to work that much harder and do it over here with this group of guys.”

First Collins, then Sandy, now Wheeler… I think this playoffs talk is getting rather contagious… It’s good to hear Wheeler talk like this – he has a chip on his shoulder… Nothing wrong with that.

]]>http://metsmerizedonline.com/2014/11/wheeler-has-a-chip-on-his-shoulder-wants-to-win-with-mets.html/feed/150Mets By The Numbers: A Season Series Breakdownhttp://metsmerizedonline.com/2014/10/mets-by-the-numbers-a-season-series-breakdown.html/
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2014/10/mets-by-the-numbers-a-season-series-breakdown.html/#commentsFri, 10 Oct 2014 14:00:15 +0000http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=167547[...]]]>

Thinking back on my college days, I remember my squeaky voiced coach telling us every practice on Friday night, “Don’t worry about winning every game, worry about winning the series.” Back then we played a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. It made sense – winning 2 out of 3 against eight conference teams would generate a 16-8 record. Things aren’t quite the same with a 162 game schedule.

One would think that a team who won three out of four intra-division season series would be playing October baseball. Especially considering that that portion of the schedule accounts for almost 50 percent of the total games played.

On the same note, one would think a team who plays against 20 teams in a season and finished above .500 in season series’ wouldn’t be heading home in the fall. If given a nameless team and the season series record of 10-7-3, what kind of record do you think that would reflect? Obviously this team finished above the .500 mark, right?

The Mets took three of four of their biggest season series. They beat the Braves, Marlins and the Phillies – and got destroyed by the Nationals. Winning 3 of 4 intra-division series, worth 19 games each, should guarantee an above 500 record. That notion gets wiped away when you barely avoided being swept by the remaining team.

The Mets only beat the Nationals 4 times in 19 contests. Out of our 15 losses to the Nats, 14 of them were by 2 runs or more. Simply put – they owned us.

Who else owned the Mets? Since the amount of games played outside of the division shrinks, we get a smaller snapshot of how the Mets compare to these other teams. They meet NL West and Central teams for two series’ as opposed to a lopsided six. Interleague games take up one series each (an exception being where they played the Yankees and A’s 4 games each). Taking a look at the results, the Mets performed pretty well overall, beating seven teams, losing to six and splitting with three outside of the NL East.

Upon further inspection, besides the Nationals, only three teams beat the Mets by more than one game for the season: the Giants, Dodgers and the Cubs; two playoff teams (which is understandable at this point) and the Cubs. Other than that, the Pirates, Brewers and Angels took the season series against the Mets by a one-game Margin.

Overall the Mets went 1-5-1 against playoff teams in 2014. Their only series win against a playoff team was beating the Cardinals who they edged by one game. They fell behind the Pirates and Angels by one game apiece, two behind the Dodgers, were five in the hole against the Giants, and got punished by the Nationals. They fortunately broke even with the athletics.

Their overall record against playoff teams in 2014 was 17-36. Remember, 14 of those losses are directly from our friends in Washington.

So what does all this mean? In my opinion, the numbers are telling me the Mets are better than most of the league except for the playoff teams (and the Cubs).

It tells me that the Mets are above the bottom tier, but not just ready to compete. In a way, I’m looking at the Mets as I did the 2012 Royals. Loads of young talent, but just not quite ready yet.

The numbers tell us we really need to solve the Nationals if we are ever to compete for that division title. (Or hope for that D’Back switch I mentioned).

Overall, I like looking at the 2014 Season from a series point of view. This isn’t football where a championship is decided in one game. Of all the numbers discussed the one that makes me happiest is taking 4 of 7 from the Cardinals. The one that disgusts me the most is the 2 of 7 from the lowly Cubbies.

In a very positive light, the Mets did well against most of the teams they faced this year. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it – and carrying it into the 2015 season.

The New York Mets today announced the club will begin the 2015 regular season on a six-game road trip beginning Monday, April 6 through Thursday April 9 at Washington versus the Nationals and April 10 through 12 in Atlanta versus the Braves. The Mets will make their 2015 Citi Field debut on Opening Day Monday, April 13 vs. the Philadelphia Phillies which marks the beginning of a 10-game homestand.

The 2015 schedule also features the Subway Series returning to weekend matchups on April 24-26 at Yankee Stadium and at Citi Field September 18-20. The Boston Red Sox are set to make their first-ever regular season visit to Citi Field, for a weekend matchup, August 28-30. In addition, popular fan promotions such as Free Shirt Fridays, Post-Game Concerts, Fireworks, and Family Sundays will also return for 2015.

Highlights of the 2015 home schedule include:

April 13-23 – Opening homestand versus National League East opponents the Phillies, Marlins and Braves

May 5-6 – Interleague matchup versus the Baltimore Orioles

Memorial Day, May 25 versus the Philadelphia Phillies

June 15-16 – Interleague matchup versus the Toronto Blue Jays

29 of the final 39 regular season games are against National League East opponents

Game times for the 2015 campaign will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2015 schedule is subject to change, including all Saturday and Sunday game times, which are subject to Major League Baseball’s national broadcast agreements with FOX and ESPN

2015 SCHEDULE

April 6-9: At Washington
April 10-12: At Atlanta
April 13-15: Philadelphia
April 17-19: Miami
April 21-23: Atlanta
April 24-26: At New York
April 27-29: At Miami
April 30-May 3: Washington
May 5-6: Baltimore
May 8-10: At Philadelphia
May 11-14: At Chicago (NL)
May 15-17: Milwaukee
May 18-21: St. Louis
May 22-24: At Pittsburgh
May 25-27: Philadelphia
May 29-31: Miami
June 1-3: At San Diego
June 5-7: At Arizona
June 8-11: San Francisco
June 12-14: Atlanta
June 15-16: Toronto
June 17-18: At Toronto
June 19-21: At Atlanta
June 23-25: At Milwaukee
June 26-28: Cincinnati
June 30-July 2: Chicago (NL)
July 3-5: At Los Angeles (NL)
July 6-8: At San Francisco
July 10-12: Arizona
July 17-19: At St. Louis
July 20-22: At Washington
July 23-26: Los Angeles (NL)
June 28-30: San Diego
July 30-Aug. 2: Washington
Aug. 3-5: At Miami
Aug. 7-9: At Tampa Bay
Aug. 10-13: Colorado
Aug. 14-16: Pittsburgh
Aug. 18-19: At Baltimore
Aug. 21-23: At Colorado
Aug. 24-27: At Philadelphia
Aug. 28-30: Boston
Aug. 31-Sept. 2: Philadelphia
Sept. 4-6: At Miami
Sept. 7-9: At Washington
Sept. 10-13: At Atlanta
Sept. 14-16: Miami
Sept. 18-20: New York (AL)
Sept. 21-23: Atlanta
Sept. 24-27: At Cincinnati
Sept. 29-Oct. 1: At Philadelphia
Oct. 2-4: Washington

Mets ace Matt Harvey has made it no secret that he’d like to pitch in 2014. While the Mets have made it clear that they’d like their 25-year old right-hander to slow things down, and let their rehabilitation schedule dictate his return to the mound.

Just last week, after consulting with Dr. James Andrews, the Mets put a stop to Harvey’s scheduled throwing session.

Now comes the news, as reported by ESPN‘s Adam Rubin, that Mets GM Sandy Alderson is essentially ruling out a return to the mound for Harvey in 2014. Alderson told reporters that his ailing ace won’t pitch within 11 months of the surgery, leaving minimal opportunity for Harvey to get into real-game action. The Mets GM also added:

“I think he would like to have in the back of his mind that he threw once or twice and that everything went fine so that he goes into spring training with that kind of peace of mind,” Alderson said. “I think there are other ways that we can provide that kind of peace of mind, whether it’s in instructional league or some other setting. So that’s yet to be determined.”

Mets manager Terry Collins appears to be in the same corner as Alderson.

“… I’d love him to pitch this year, because I think it means we’re in the hunt. But I don’t find it drastically important, because the one thing we do not want to have is some type of major relapse because we came too fast and this guy sits out 2015. That ain’t happening.” said Collins

As for Harvey, clearly the competitor in him wants to get back as fast as possible, and he isn’t backing down from that mentality. However, he realizes his place in the decision-making hierarchy.

“My whole intention, of course, like I’ve said all along as a competitor, is always to look into the future and find a specific date of how early I can come back,” Harvey said. “They have a higher power. I can’t write myself in the lineup or say I’m ready to come back without being cleared by the organization and by doctors first.

“Obviously coming back in the middle of August, I don’t think that’s possible anymore.”

Harvey would also add that he was yet to hear from the organization as to why this decision was reached.

Prior to the the three-game set with the Miami Marlins, Collins was faced with a brutal opening 22 game schedule segment, a different closer in each of the first three weeks of the new season, the loss of his best defensive player, Juan Lagares, who was also the team’s hottest hitter, a career long hitting slump by new acquisition Curtis Granderson and, for the most part, anemic team-wide offensive production, Collins poked and prodded, mixed and matched, and cobbled together a commendable 12 Win and 10 Loss Mets effort. The Marlins must have felt like a breath of fresh air.

In the off-season many Mets fans, including the author of this post, worried that the Amazins could finish the first 22 game segment of 2014 buried in the National League East standings.

Facing Atlanta six times, defending NL champion St. Louis four times, and then Cincinnati, Washington, the Los Angeles Angels and Arizona three times each, gave the Mets one of the toughest early season schedules in baseball.

Now at 14-11, it might not seem like a huge accomplishment to many. But if you consider it as a longterm marker, the Mets’ start is pretty remarkable.

What Collins now needs to pull out of his magic hat is team consistency.

If somehow Collins can play his cards to repeat that opening 12-10 mark in successive 22 game segments, a modest 2 wins over .500 grows into surprising results. Take a look.

Game SegmentsGames PlayedWinsLosses

1st 22 games 22 12 10

2nd 22 games 44 24 20

3rd 22 games 66 36 30

4th 22 games 88 48 40

5th 22 games 110 60 50

6th 22 games 132 72 60

7th 22 games 154 84 70

That would leave 8 games remaining in the 162 game schedule. If Terry Collins could somehow help his team play with a 12 win/10 loss consistency in every twenty-two game segment and then win 5 of the remaining 8 games, guess what, the Mets would finish with 89 wins dangerously close to the 90 game goal or challenge set by GM Sandy Alderson.

After taking the series against the Marlins, the Mets are already 2-1 in their second 22 game segment of the season.

Much of Collins’ challenge is to keep his players engaged over the long haul of a baseball season and to maximize performance against teams where his Mets should win. Too many times in the past, we would battle valiantly against some of the better teams in baseball and then have a meltdown in the very next series against a team we were expected to handle.

Remember the Mets breathtaking sweep of the Yankees last season only to be swept by Miami in the following series?

Taking care of business against weaker competitors is a trademark of the better performing baseball teams, especially the Yankees.

By itself, 12 wins and 10 losses might not seem particularly noteworthy. But, as a long-term goal sequenced over an entire baseball season, repeated 12 and 10 marks would really take shape as something quite Amazing for our 2014 Mets.